Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-01-27

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whirling edaies threatened instant
death. Insisting upon the danger.
plead hard with my comrades to re.
turn with me to the teams and take
the safer If less speedy way. Camp.
bell. however. was obstinately determ,
ined to attempt the passage and Hal
would not desert him. Both urged
me % holly and persistsntly to join in
their desperate journey that | wal
haally driven to consent and We
started, in front.
With utmost caution we crawled
from raek to rock through the fright
fni torrent TIL nearly half way across
cry of agony rent the air and rooted
me to the boulder upon which I stood.
Nearly blinded with spray | turned
to see Campbell in the water and
struggling to regain foothold beside
Hall, whose efforts to brace himself
against the death grip of his comrads
were vain, for instantly the swirling
sddies caught and bore them both to
certain, speedy death. 0aly that one
bitter cry, and then the roaring river
casting those clasped forms aloft
in cruel exultation and hooking
my sight with the white Sc. faces,
which had SO lately met my own,
flushed with vigorous life. Transfxed
with horror ! beheld them till turn
In the streams course swept them be-
yond view. Crushed and stricken
| covered upon my rock, while tears
of anguish and despair forced them
selves from my eyes, while utter weak.
ness rendered he powerless to go eth.
er way.
have never known just how f.
nally rallied nerve enough to return
to the starting point, but somehow it
was done, and retraced my steps of
the morning and joined the teams at
the ferry. Often since, as / have been
required to rehearse the story of my
journey through the lines among
friends and relatives, I have avoided
this circumstance, because if | per-
mitted myself to recall it for a mo-
ment the haunting horror OF it so sat-
urated my brain that for days l could
Est escape, from it and the memory
was torture.
Our next crossing was the Kappa.
hammock, which we approached near
nightfall aud rested near the town of
Tappahannock, until morning. The
river is over three miles wide aud was
upon that occasion full of floating ice,
while severe gale blowing with the
current rendered the passage most
perllous. Notwithstanding the Off
clal character Of our train it required
some forcible threats to induce the
coIored boatmen to attempt the cross
ing, which they finally did most re-
luctantly.
Their fears proved but too we'll
founded for ere We Were half way over
it became evident that the best exer-
tions of all present would be needed
to accomplish the trip in safety.
Wagons and mules loaded the scow
almost gunwale deep and all who did
not work hard at the sweeps were
compelled to labor equally to push off
the blocks OF ice that threatened to
swamp Us and to bale incessantly to
keep the scow atloat. 1t was but ten
In the morning when we started and
the day was so far spent when We
finally landed on the further shore
that dusk was closing in.
1t had taken us more than SIX hours
10 traverse that weary three miles and
now but thirteen more lay between us
and the Potomac. We continued
our course all night and at dawn
deserted the dim line of blockading
squadrons along the Maryland shore.
AT this period OF the war a number
OF small boats, apparently fishing
smacks. were always running the
blockade, and these did a thriving
trade of far different sort. Every
dark night passengers were carried
over the twelve-mile journey for TWEEN
ty dollars apiece, and just such a sum
and for such a purpose had been sewed
into one OF my shoes. There were
more to cross than could be taken, so
it became necessary to resort to STRAIT
agem to reduce the party. A Hebrew
family OF refugees. four in number,
John Quarles and myself. having Sc
cured rendezvous for later hour
with the skipper ola fishing smack, he
then stated that he could not cross in
such rough weather aud sailed away
up the little bay upon which he lived.
Toward night We rejo:ned our skip
per, and sailing out into the broad